Category Archives: Measurements and instrumentation

Putting a 120-Year-Old Barograph To The Test

Posted on 1 March, 2021 by danaallen

By: Kieran Hunt Cast your mind back to 1900. The World’s Fair. Great Britain has just won 48 medals at the Summer Olympics including a clean sweep in the steeplechase. Queen Victoria’s reign continues through an unprecedented 63rd year. British … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, History of Science, Measurements and instrumentation | Leave a comment

It’s Hotter Than A Ginger Mill In Hades

Posted on 12 August, 2019 by danaallen

By: Giles Harrison and Stephen Burt Or so they sometimes say in the south of the United States. But without a reference ginger mill or ready access to Hades, how do we know how hot it really is, and how … Continue reading →

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Balloon measurements at Stromboli suggest radioactivity contributes charge in volcanic plumes

Posted on 23 April, 2019 by danaallen

By: Martin Airey Volcanic lightning is an awe-inspiring and humbling display of nature’s power. It results from the breakdown of large electric fields that are generated within the volcanic plume. The processes that result in the accumulation of charge are … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Convection, Measurements and instrumentation, Volcanoes | Leave a comment

Characteristics and enhanced quality control of drifting buoy observations of sea surface temperature from the International Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS)

Posted on 12 November, 2018 by hjia

By Simone Morak-Bozzo Over the last two decades drifting buoys have become the most prevalent in situ measurement method for sea surface temperature(SST). Drifting buoy data are particularly popular because of their high spatial and temporal coverage. Their freedom of … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate change, Data collection, Data processing, earth observation, Measurements and instrumentation | Leave a comment

Smoke, science, and sharks

Posted on 5 November, 2018 by hjia

By Ross Herbert In the August of 2017 the Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation Interactions and Forcing – Year 2017 (CLARIFY) measurement campaign took place on a tiny island in the middle of the southeast Atlantic Ocean where we were surrounded by whales, sharks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Atlantic, Atmospheric chemistry, Atmospheric circulation, Atmospheric optics, Climate, Climate change, Climate modelling, Clouds, Data collection, earth observation, Energy budget, Environmental hazards, Greenhouse gases, Measurements and instrumentation, Microphysics, Numerical modelling, Solar radiation, Weather forecasting, Wind | Leave a comment

Image conscious atmospheric science

Posted on 1 October, 2018 by hjia

By Giles Harrison A frequently-heard mantra in physics is “Like charges repel and unlike charges attract”. At face value this paraphrase of Coulomb’s Law seems useful for clouds too, as, quite apart from the obvious example of thunderclouds, water drops … Continue reading →

Posted in Clouds, earth observation, Measurements and instrumentation, Microphysics, Numerical modelling, University of Reading, Weather | Leave a comment

Soil Moisture retrieval from satellite SAR imagery

Posted on 19 June, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Keith Morrison Soil moisture retrieval from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery uses the knowledge that the signal reflected from a soil is related to its dielectric properties. For a given soil type, variations in dielectric are controlled solely … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, earth observation, Hydrology, land use, Measurements and instrumentation, Numerical modelling, Remote sensing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sea Surface Temperature Climate Data Record

Posted on 13 February, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Owen Embury Over 70% of the Earth’s surface is ocean and knowing its temperature is important for understanding both weather and climate. Historically sea surface temperature (SST) has been measured in situ – from ships and more recently from … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, earth observation, Historical climatology, Measurements and instrumentation, Metadata, Remote sensing | Leave a comment

The value of future observations

Posted on 7 November, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Alison Fowler The atmosphere and oceans are being routinely observed by a myriad of instruments. These instruments are positioned on board orbiting satellites, aircraft and ships, surface weather stations, and even balloons.  The information collected by these instruments can … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, earth observation, Measurements and instrumentation, Numerical modelling, Remote sensing | Tagged | Leave a comment

How can a hurricane near the USA affect the weather in Europe?

Posted on 31 October, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By John Methven It may seem bizarre that processes occurring within clouds near the USA, involving tiny ice crystals and water droplets, can have an influence on high-impact weather events thousands of kilometres away in Europe, and our ability to predict them … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental physics, Measurements and instrumentation, Numerical modelling, University of Reading, Weather forecasting | Leave a comment